Athena
by Lawliet'sPocky
Summary: Claire Farron was once a normal child, living a normal life, before the chaos come. Her dark past made her grow became strong warrior. She wanted to gain her lost. Will she able to do it? I'm suck at summary, just read and review. LightningxNoctis
1. Chapter 1

**My second fanfic, and yes! I always ship Noctis and Lightning.**

**I don't own any Final Fantasy Characters**

**Please read and enjoy! :D**

_Fear, confusion, panic… It's all what I feel right now. It's nothing else but a whole terror. The sky that used to be bright and clear, now it covers with black clouds. The sun had been forced to hide behind those black clouds. No rays were strong enough to pierce those clouds. No rays were strong enough to enlighten the city. The fallen city. It should be a peaceful evening, watching the sunset from my roof. What the hell happened? Why must it come out to be like this?_

_BOOM!_

_Just then, an explosion happened. Again. This time sending a penthouse near the beach to blew off. Screams of terror followed the explosion. Even more bloods were spilt from the explosion. My eyes widen, I stopped for awhile from my run. Everybody is screaming and running towards my direction._

"_It's them. It's not an explosion! It's the monster!" scream an old man who's running while holding an injured little boy, probably his grandson._

"_Run! Save your life!" Scream another person, who's passing through me._

_I just stand there. My feet shake. For the first time I'm scared. Everybody is running towards my direction, desperate to reach the Palampolum Station, the only way to run and save their life. But I can't run there. I can't runaway without my parents. My dear parents, they defend this city, sacrificing their life._

_I run again, I don't care about those people who are screaming in terror, running pass through me. Some of them try to get me with them, saying that it's too dangerous, that I must runaway and safe my life. But I keep on running towards it. Towards the destruction, the ambush. My eyes keep on scanning in the midst of the chaos. Desperate. I'm trying to find my parents. Tears started to flow down from my eyes when I can't find my parents. Panic, fear, desperate, frustration. That's all I feel right now._

_Just then a loud thud heard. Then I feel the ground is shaking. Soon enough I know the cause. About 20 meters away, a large Behemoth has been fallen to the ground. And much to my relief, I saw my father standing next to the dead behemoth, panting heavily._

"_Dad! Daddy!" I called him. He looked surprised when he saw me._

"_Claire! My dear, what are you doing here? Run!" My father shouted._

"_No. I won't go without you and Mom!" I cried._

"_Just go! Go to Palampolum station! Where's Serah?" My father ran towards me._

"_She's safe. Amodar took her with him. They're heading to the station." I hugged my dad as soon as he reached me._

"_And why don't you come with them? You must go now Claire! It's too dangerous here." He said._

"_Where's Mommy? I'm not leaving without you and Mom!" I stubbornly said._

"_Claire, this is not the time to be stubborn. You must go now! It's too-"_

_BOOM!_

_Just before my father could finish his words, an explosion happened again. No. It wasn't an explosion. I saw 4 large creatures, with Anubis-like head. Those creatures destroyed a restaurant near the coast line, which I know as my favorite restaurant this whole time._

"_Claire!" A woman's voice called me. I turned my head and thankfully I saw my mother stood before a broken house._

"_Mommy!" I ran towards my mother. But a loud crash happened again._

_CRASH! BOOM!_

"_Claire, stop!" My father shouted. He ran towards me and quickly grabbed me. Just then a huge pillar crashed in front of me, it blocked my sight of my mother._

"_This is crazy! Claire you must go!" My father turned me so I faced him._

"_But mommy-"_

"_You have to go! I'll come with you with mommy after we all finish this! Okay Claire?" My father said. He cupped my face with his palms._

"_Claire! Are you okay?" I heard my mother shouted. She jumped from the ruins of the pillar._

"_Mommy!" I ran and hugged her._

"_Claire, sweetheart, you must go! Okay?" My mother said to me._

_BUMP! BUMP! BUMP!_

_Before I could respond, I could feel the ground shook again. My mom gasped and released her hug. I looked up to see what's wrong. That's when I saw the terror that's heading towards us. Those 4 Anubis-head monsters are coming towards us. One of them held a pillar, the same pillar that crashed in front of me. The Anubis-head monster that hold the pillar began to raised its hand. Then, I realized that creature was about to throw the pillar again._

"_Damn! Jump!" My father quickly took me and jumped aside. My mother jumped too. But, as soon as the pillar crashed, some of the ruin splattered. And much to my terror, the ruin hit my mother. I could hear her scream of pain. I could see blood splattered from her stomach, where the ruin hit her hard._

_For a moment I felt like the world stopped. I became deaf. I became mute. I felt like paralyzed. My body shook. Then I felt my tears flowed down from my eyes. I gulped. That time, I wanted to scream as loud as I could. I wanted to make the monster scared by my voice. I wanted to kill those monsters and save my mother. But even though I tried to move, I just couldn't. _

"_No!" Then, I heard my dad screamed. He quickly grabbed his big sword and put me down._

"_Claire, my dear, please. Go back to Palampolum station. I need to save your Mom and buy you some time to run. Okay? We'll meet you. I promise." My dad said with shaky voice. I knew he was panicked but he really did well to hide it from me._

_Before I could respond, the monster started to attack again. This time they pulled out their giant sword and hit it to the ground, causing the ground to crack. And I could feel the ground rumbled again, just like an earthquake._

"_Claire, run!" My father looked back at me, before run towards those 4 monsters, while holding his sword. "Daddy!" I screamed._

_Then, I saw the monster clashed its swords towards my fathers. Fortunately my father blocked it, he was a great soldier after all. He jumped towards the pillar ruins, he tried to look for my mother._

"_Dad!" I screamed when I saw the large monster swing its sword again towards my father. My father turned around and quickly jumped. From the look in his eyes I could tell that he was shocked too. But he quickly took this step to land on the monster's sword and ran on it. Once the monster started to pull out the sword from the ground it crashed, my dad jumped to the monster's left abdomen and stabbed it with his sword._

_I have to admit that my father is fast, really fast, and deathly. He was one of the commanders in the military anyway. But still, that sword isn't big enough to take down that monster. The monster tried to get rid of my father with its hand, but my father quickly removed his sword from the monster's abdomen and swing it to the monster's hand, he jumped and landed on the monster's wrist before took another throwing knife and throw it to the monster's eyes. Bull's eye. The knife hit the monster's eyes. My father swang his sword again and stabbed it on the monster's chest. With that, the monster let out a loud growl and started to fall down._

_I was pretty happy to see my dad is on the winning position. But just after my father safely jumped to the ground, another monster started to attack again. This time it wasn't aiming at my father. It's aiming at… Me._

"_CLAIRE!" My father screamed._

_I was panicked. I couldn't move. The monster threw its axe to me. It was really really huge. It was so close to reach me. So close to crush me down. My eyes widened, I couldn't move a single muscle to run. But, just before the axe crushed me, my dad ran and pushed me away. I hit the ground pretty hard and got some scratches on my arm. But, I don't care about it. I could hear my father growled. I turned back. And what I saw really surprised me._

_My father was there, lying on the ground. His blood splattered everywhere on the ground, it stopped just a few inches before my legs. His sword was broken into pieces and splattered around him. I could tell that he used the sword to dodge the giant axe, but it wasn't strong enough. And that giant axe, oh God, it was crushed right on my father's right body, crushing down his arm. He looked so pale that time. The only color is the red from his blood. I could see he turned his head towards me, blood dripped from his mouth._

"_Cl-claire. Ru-run." My father said in a very soft voice, he almost lost all of his voice. Just after that, he fainted._

_I could feel more tears rolled down my face. It couldn't stop. My sight was so blur because of my tears. Soon, I could hear another bump and the ground rumbled again. I looked up, there was 3 monsters headed towards us. I quickly got up and ran towards my father. I kneeled and touched his face softly._

"_Dad! Wake up! Please! Dad!" I whispered, my voice was so desperate that time. I didn't know what to do. I just shook my father's body softly. Hoped that he would wake up and told me that everything was fine._

"_Dad, please! Dad!" I cried. I shook his body harder, but still he didn't open his eyes. Then, I realized the place was getting darker. Once I looked up, I saw the three monsters were only about 10 meters away. Their bodies blocked the light and their shadows made the place even darker. My mouth gaped, I tried to cover my father, protecting him. My whole body shook, cold sweat flowing from head to toe, and I cried even harder. One of the monsters whose standing in the middle snorted, mocked me. It drew out its giant axe once again, ready to smash it down to me._

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

_Somehow, there were some shots and it hit the three monsters and made them stumbled back. Just then, I could feel an arm circled me and held me up before ran and took me away. I turned my head to see who brought me and I saw Amodar, one of my father's cadets._

_When I turned my head back towards the 3 monsters, I could see they were started to regain their composure, and getting ready to attack again. The monsters growled deathly, they looked angry. Then, I realized my parents are still there, lying unconscious. I panicked._

"_No! Stop! We need to get mommy and daddy too! They're there. The monsters are going to kill them! Stop!" I cried._

_ROAAAARRR_

_One of the monster roared loudly, from the sound it looked like the monster was really angry. But Amodar didn't stop. He kept running. He only looked back for some mere seconds before pulling out his huge bazooka, holding it in his right hand and shot it at the three monsters. It looked so hard for him to do that with one arm. After that he ran again. One of his shot hit the monsters leg and caused it to fell. But the 2 remaining monsters only stumbled back._

"_Amodar! Come on! This is a chance to get my parents back! Get back! Please!" I shout, I started to gave some punched on his arm. "Let me go!" I cried._

"_No I can't!" Amodar shout. "Don't you see that there's no chance? I'm sorry Claire but we must run, I swear to your father I'll safe you!" He raised his voice. His voice cracked and I could see he was crying too._

"_I'm so sorry Claire." Amodar sobs while he was running._

_I looked back and saw the other monster walked. My eyes widened. Its foot stepped on my father._

"_DADDY!" I screamed. It was the greatest terror in my life. I cried harder, I sobbed, I screamed, I didn't know what to do that time. That time, I lost all of my happiness._

_Amodar ran faster without turning back. Soon he reached a strange vehicle. I knew that was the transport that was used by the soldier, my father had a picture of that vehicle in his book. Amodar put me down on the seat behind him, and quickly turn on the engine and go with high speed. He turned his head back once again to shot one of the monsters on its leg, cause it to fell again. The other monster grabbed a pillar from a house beside it. The house was destroyed right after it. The monster threw the pillar towards us._

"_Shit!" Amodar curse while swerved to the left. The pillar was flown on the right._

_CRASHED!_

_I could hear some parts of the glass window on my side scratched. Even the rim was bent. Some of the glass scratched my arm and cheek. The vehicle that carried us also shook and almost rolled in the air. Fortunately Amodar quickly swerved and regained the balance of the vehicle._

"_Damn it! Claire, are you okay?" He asked. I just nodded. Amodar quickly accelerate the transport. Thanks to the speed of the vehicle we managed to reach the safe line, after some swirled to avoid things that was thrown to us. It was at the suburbs, where the monsters hadn't reached yet. Amodar stopped the vehicle and put me down from the vehicle._

"_We're here Claire. Serah already took the train and right now she probably already out of Bodhum. Listen Claire, I'm so sorry. I couldn't do anything back there." Amodar stopped for a while. He bit his lower lips. His breathing became rapid. "I couldn't safe your parents, no, WE as cadet and soldiers couldn't safe your parents, couldn't protect the city. I'm so sorry Claire!" Amodar started to cry, but he held it._

_He took a deep breath. "But Claire, I've promised to your father that I will protect you and Serah. I've swore to them. That's why I took you here, and now Claire, you must go out from this city. Take the train and leave Bodhum, okay? There are soldiers who are arranging the evacuation so you'll be safe. Now take the train, okay?" Amodar tried to speak calmly and reassured me with a small smile._

_I know it has been a really tough day. I lost my home, my hometown and my parents. But there's nothing else I could do. Amodar asked a cadet to walk me to the station. Once I've reached the station, I got in to the train, sit quietly while still crying. I could see everyone there was depressed too. Lots of them are crying, sobbing or even screaming hysterically. But I only could remain quiet and cried silently._

_That time I was thinking. My parents died to protect me. But, if I wasn't there, if I just ran away without came to them, if I just obey them right then. Will they still alive? I felt I was the reason why they died. If I weren't there, maybe they could fight and win, they're great soldiers after all._

_Since then, I always feel guilty. I feel, because of me, my parents died. Because of me Serah lost her parents. It's all because of me, for not being brave enough, for not being strong enough, for not obeying my parents right away._

_I was the reason my parents died._

**Well, that was a long story right?**

**So, big apologize for not being discipline enough to update my previous fanfiction *bow***

**And I know maybe right now you're thinking like "You even haven't done my first fanfiction and now you already write another one?"**

**Sorry about that but, well... Sometimes idea just popped out and we need to do it right?**

**Anyway, my biggest apologize because I can't guarantee that I could update this fic constantly since school is sooooo crazy, I'm really busy and rarely have time to write, but, I'll do my best and I hope you'll keep reading my fics! Oh, yes! Please give reviews 'kay?**

**Well, that's all for now. Thank you and see you next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Previously in Chapter 1:_

_I looked back and saw the other monster walked. My eyes widened. Its foot stepped on my father._

"_DADDY!" I screamed. It was the greatest terror in my life. I cried harder, I sobbed, I screamed, I didn't know what to do that time. That time, I lost all of my happiness._

_Amodar ran faster without turning back. Soon he reached a strange vehicle Amodar quickly accelerate the transport. Thanks to the speed of the vehicle we managed to reach the safe line. Amodar stopped the vehicle and put me down from the vehicle._

"_We're here Claire. Serah already took the train and right now she probably already out of Bodhum. Take the train and leave Bodhum, okay? There are soldiers who are arranging the evacuation so you'll be safe. Now take the train, okay?" Amodar tried to speak calmly and reassured me with a small smile._

_My parents died to protect me. But, if I wasn't there, if I just ran away without came to them, if I just obey them right then. Will they still alive? I felt I was the reason why they died. If I weren't there, maybe they could fight and win, they're great soldiers after all._

_Since then, I always feel guilty. I was the reason my parents died._

"_It was a whole chaos in the Bodhum. Guardian Corps already tried their best to evacuate as many citizens as possible. They're heading to the Palampolum Station and brought other safer places. A few minutes ago, the last train arrived at Lucis, while the previous train headed to Eden. The-"_

"_Come on Noctis, we don't have much time. I have to handle those refugees." King Regis turned off the TV and grabbed Noctis arm. They quickly ran to the front door and entered the car._

"_Dad, why should I come with you?" Noctis asked._

"_You have to deal with the real situation, my son. You have to be able to handle emergency situation later." King Regis buttoned his shirt and looked at Noctis._

"_Dad what happened?"_

"_I'm not sure either. Somehow those monsters from the Wild lands came and destroy everything. There must be something or someone behind it. I don't know what they want, but they are up to something. And they are dangerous." King Regis straightened his seat. Noctis seem to be shocked with that news._

"_We're here." the car came to a stop at a crowded place. It was chaos. Some were panic, asking hysterically to any person they met, some were crying, sobbing, even fainted. They're eyes were full of sadness, emptiness. Even it made Noctis felt devastated by looking at them. He got off from the car with his father and headed to a guy at a huge van who held a microphone._

"_How's everything going, Cor?" King Regis stood right beside Cor, the guy who held the microphone._

"_Bad. Refugees are scattered. They're panic yes of course. They are looking for their family or friends. We barely handle them. We broke them down to 20 groups, 3 of them are the injured one, already taken to nearest hospitals. The other 2 groups were departed by train to Lestallum 10 minutes ago. In 5 minutes we will depart the next train sending 2 groups again to Lestallum." Cor explained._

"_And the other groups?" King Regis asked. His face was full of concern._

"_The trains just arrived. We'll send 6 groups to Accordo. Squad 1, lead Group 8 and 9 to the first train. Squad 2, lead Group 10 and 11 to the second train. Squad 3, lead Group 12 and 13 to the last train. Go, now!" Cor said through the microphone, then he wrote down to his note. "I'm afraid Lucis is overloaded with the refugees, Yourhigness." Cor said to King Regis._

"_What about Insomnia? Depart them to Insomnia." Noctis said._

"_Insomnia should be kept away from the refugees. They will bring too much chaos. Insomnia must keep going at their best condition, no hindrance. It's too risky to involve Insomnia." Cor said._

"_Any other nations are capable to hold refugees?" King Regis asked._

"_Eden is over capacitated. So does Gran Pulse." Cor scanned through his notes._

"_Sent them to Midgar. Their King called me and said they can handle 100 more refugees." King Regis said._

"_But it's a long way to Midgar, Yourhigness. They'll need more food." Cor said._

"_Take the food stock in Insomnia. It's okay. We can restock it easily." King Regis said._

"_Okay, I'll call squad 10 to bring back the food supply from Lestallum." Cor quickly snatch his phone from his pocket and call someone._

"_Sir, there's a girl who don't want to depart. It's really hard to persuade her. She keeps on crying." One of the soldiers came running to Cor._

"_Shove her in." Cor hissed in the mid of his call._

"_Where's the girl?" King Regis asked._

"_At the train station. She said she doesn't want to go without her family. But there's no train coming anymore." the soldier said._

"_Let's meet that girl, Noctis." King Regis held Noctis hand. Then the soldier led their way to the station._

_There stood a young girl, probably 6 years old. She wasn't injured, but she's sobbing badly. The girl had a beautiful strawberry pink hair. The hair was so lovely even it is covered with dust in some places._

"_Young Lady, may I help you?" King Regis kneeled beside the girl. The girl looked up slowly to see King Regis' face. When she looked up, Noctis held his breath, before him, he saw a pair of beautiful blue eyes, but full of agony, full of tears._

"_What's your name sweetheart?" King Regis asked softly._

"_It's Serah. Serah Farron. I don't want to go to Midgar without my family. They'll come soon. Please, wait for them." the girl pleaded, she cried harder._

"_It's okay Serah. We will wait for your family. Do you have any idea when they depart and which train they're in?" King Regis stroked her head tenderly._

"_I, I don't know. My parents fought the monsters, but they said they will go after me with the military. My sister, she, she turned back right after I reached Palumpolum Station. She said she's looking for our parents." Serah started to sob again._

"_Okay, it's okay Serah, we will wait for them. First, we have to stop the tears from those beautiful eyes of yours, okay? I will accompany you until they come." King Regis pulled out his handkerchief and wiped Serah's tears._

"_Excuse me Yourhigness, I'm sorry but the last train will depart soon to Midgar. What about her?" the soldier asked._

"_It's okay. I'll settle down the rest by myself. Let the last train depart." King Regis orders._

"_Understood, Youhigness." With that, the soldier bowed and dismissed, continuing his job. After about 10 minutes comforting Serah, a smaller train came. Then, a couple of soldier jumped off from the train, bowed at King Regis. One of them spoke, "We break down the last group into 3 trains in the Luxerion, Yourhigness, since we got the news that Lucis is over capacitated. We send the other two trains to Solheim."_

"_Good. Send this last train to Midgar." King Regis said. Both of the soldier exchanged look._

"_Anything wrong?" King Regis asked._

"_Where's my parents? And my sister?" Serah tugged King Regis' hand, crying._

"_We have a girl with the same hair color as her in the train." One of the soldier said._

"_Claire!" Serah's eyes shine, hearing the news. "Did you see my parents?" Serah looked to the soldiers, her eyes are full of hopes._

"_Ehmm, I'm not sure young lady, but this is the last train." The soldier said. With that news, the smile in Serah's face disappeared._

"_Well, you say your parents come with the military right? They won't use this train, we just need to wait patiently." King Regis tried to calm her down. "Can you call that girl here?" King Regis soldier nodded. They returned to the train and soon they came back with a girl who held her head down. She seemed to be about at Noctis' age, maybe a little bit younger._

"_Claire! Claire!" Serah called her name happily. She ran to her sister and hugged her, but the older girl didn't respond._

"_We'll depart to the Midgar now, Yourhigness." The soldiers bowed. King Regis nodded then the train departed._

"_Claire, where's mommy? Where's daddy?" Serah let go her hug. But Claire only gritted her teeth. Noctis even could saw her shoulders shook even if she tried to hold it. He quickly understood what she meant and he couldn't help to feel sad too._

"_For, forgive me Serah. I, I was, such a-" Claire held her down even more. Noctis could see tears were dripping from her face. Somehow, Noctis' body reacted on his own, he reached for his handkerchief and wiped the tears away from the girl's face. Claire looked up surprisedly, their eyes met. It torn Noctis' heart to see the most beautiful eyes, a pale aqua eyes that's swollen, and redden. That eyes is full of sadness, desperation, and somehow full of emptiness. Noctis gulped, he was speechless, he didn't know how to comfort her, and even he thought there's no way to comfort her. He just stood there, looking into her eyes before suddenly the girl bumped her head to Noctis chest and broke down into cry and screams. Noctis was shocked, he felt like his heart was hit and created a hole. He just kept silent and hugged the girl, stroking her head gently, hoping that it could somehow ease her pain._

_The next moment, King Regis took both of the girls to his car, driving to Lucis, to their place. Noctis didn't aware of his surroundings anymore after seeing Claire's cry. Never in his life had he felt this devastated. He felt so useless, before him there were two vulnerable girls and all he could do was nothing. The incident in Bodhum brought grieves to everyone, and by seeing Serah and Claire, it made the grief even felt more real._

_King Regis decided to adopt the two girls, making them the princesses of Lucis. Nobody objected his decision, and even more, people were sympathizing towards Claire and Serah. A few days had passed, Serah was still grieving but she could still smile and laugh sometimes, thanks to the King and Queen's warm welcome, soft jokes and affection. However, Noctis hasn't seen Claire since the first day they stayed in the King's residence. She had locked herself inside her room. Nobody was permitted to enter her room. She even left her food untouched during her first day in King Regis' residence._

_After a week passed, Noctis can't take it anymore. He came to Claire's room and knocked it._

"_Claire, it has been a week. Don't you want to come out and greet other people?" Noctis asked. He waited for an answer but there were only silence._

"_Claire, I know you're sad. But, you need some fresh air. Maybe a little walk in the park would help you." Noctis said desperately. Still, there's no answer from Claire. Noctis exhaled slowly. He gathered up all of his courage and knocked the door again. He said loudly, "How could you, disrespected the one who already helped you, my father, my mother. Never even once you respond to them. They're just trying to help you. They're worrying about you. Is this how you express your gratitude?" Noctis panted after saying those words, worrying that it might have worsened the situation. Noctis waited nervously. 20 seconds, still there's no respond. 30 seconds, Noctis started to regret his action. Just when he's about to apologize, the door opened slightly, revealing a pale aqua eyes from the creak. Again, all Noctis saw was emptiness in those eyes. Even worse, he could see eye bags on her face._

"_Sorry." Noctis looked down at his foot._

"_No, I'm sorry, you're right." Claire said. Her voice was so soft that Noctis barely heard her._

"_Ummm, do you mind for a walk at the park?" Noctis asked timidly. He looked back at Claire, but she just averted her gaze downward._

"_Sorry." Noctis looked down at his foot again. There was an awkward silence for a whole minute before Noctis cleared his throat._

"_Look, Mom and Dad are worrying about you. And so does Serah. We will have a dinner together tonight. There are a few friends of mine who will join. I hope, you can come and greet everyone." Noctis looked at Claire, waiting for her reaction. But she just keeps looking down. "We also can accompany you to see around the Residence, or even Lucis if you want to." Noctis said, trying to persuade her. Hearing this, Claire looked up at Noctis face again. She remained silent for a moment before nodded hesitantly._

"_What is it Claire? If you have something on your mind, you can say it to me." Noctis tried to reassure her. She was thinking before she opened the door wider, signaling him to come in._

_The room was dark, the air was stuffy. Noctis scanned the room after his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The room was clean and tidy. There were only some wrinkles on the bed sheet, showing that Claire was sitting in the middle of it, leaning to a pillow._

"_Does Lucis have military power?" Claire asked from behind._

"_What? Military power? Of course." Noctis looked at Claire. He had a questioning looked on his face._

"_I'd like to visit it." Claire said. Noctis was dumbfounded but agreed at last._

_Finally, Claire came to the dinner, much to everyone relieve. Both the Queen and the King welcomed her, hugging her and kissed her, so does Serah. Her eyes look brighter after Claire came. Noctis introduced her to his friends, Ignis the son of King's advisor, Gladiolus the son of Head of Military and Prompto the son of King's guard. After the dinner, Noctis insisted to take Claire for a walk._

"_I'd like to talk to Gladiolus' father." Claire said when they were walking in the park._

"_What? Are you really that interested to military?" Noctis surprised._

"_I'd like to join it." Claire said. She looked to Noctis' face. There, he can see her eyes were full of determination but what scared him the most is that look. The look of a wild animal that's ready to charge, ready to get revenge._

"_Claire," Noctis said._

"_That would be my only wish, Noctis." Claire looked directly to Noctis' eyes. Never will he forget the look before him. The look that made him stumbled back and gave up. Maybe now Noctis understood why he was so desperate to help Claire, why he really looked forward to cheer her up. It was all because he wanted to see those pale aqua eyes to shine, to be full of happiness, freed from any look of sorrow. But now, maybe those eyes would never be like that._

**Thank you for reading, I'm so sorry for the late update, the site was blocked for a long time.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story, and I'm looking forward to any review!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Previously in Chapter 2:_

"_Claire, where's mommy? Where's daddy?" Serah let go her hug. But Claire only gritted her teeth. Noctis even could saw her shoulders shook even if she tried to hold it. He quickly understood what she meant and he couldn't help to feel sad too._

"_For, forgive me Serah. I, I was, such a-" Claire held her down even more. Noctis could see tears were dripping from her face. Somehow, Noctis' body reacted on his own, he reached for his handkerchief and wiped the tears away from the girl's face. Claire looked up surprisedly, their eyes met. It torn Noctis' heart to see the most beautiful eyes, a pale aqua eyes that's swollen, and redden. That eyes is full of sadness, desperation, and somehow full of emptiness._

_King Regis decided to adopt the two girls, making them the princesses of Lucis._

"_Does Lucis have military power?" Claire asked from behind._

"_What? Military power? Of course." Noctis looked at Claire. He had a questioning looked on his face._

"_I'd like to join it." Claire said. She looked to Noctis' face. There, he can see her eyes were full of determination but what scared him the most is that look. The look of a wild animal that's ready to charge, ready to get revenge._

_Maybe now Noctis understood why he was so desperate to help Claire, why he really looked forward to cheer her up. It was all because he wanted to see those pale aqua eyes to shine, to be full of happiness, freed from any look of sorrow. But now, maybe those eyes would never be like that._

_Lucis, King Regis' Residence, 12 years later_

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Milady, I bring you your dress!" There was a moment of silence.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Excuse me Lady Lightning but you have to get dress now! The party will be started in a few hours!" the maid said in panic.

"You won't find her in her room at this time." A low voice interrupted the maid.

"Lord Noctis, the head maid is looking for you." the maid bowed her head.

"Yeah, I've met him. Lightning must be in the GC office right now." Noctis walks towards the maid. "She won't be happy to use this dress." He scanned the dress.

"But this is-",

"My mother's choice. I know. I'll call Lightning to get here soon. You can leave the dress in my room." Noctis said.

"Will do, Milord." the maid bowed her head and left.

Noctis took his phone and scanned his contacts. Searching for Lightning's number and dialed it.

"Light, you-"

"_I'm already at the front door Noctis. You don't have to remind me when to go home." _Lightning said from the phone. She sound irritated. Noctis couldn't help but chuckled at her tone.

"Better be a bit more cheerful Light. We're going to have a party." Noctis said.

"_Oh, today can't be worse._" Lightning end the call. Just a minute later, she's already heading up the stairs and met Noctis.

"Let me guess, pink?" Lightning put her hand on her hips.

"Almost there. Salmon pink to be exact." Noctis chuckled, Lightning growled. "Don't be so rude Light. The dress is gorgeous." Noctis reassured her.

"I respect your mother's choice Noct, it's not that she has terrible taste. But,-"

"You just don't like dresses." Noctis said.

"Exactly." Lightning rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately you have to wear it. Remember this party is important. Lots of notable people will come, not to mention they are crucial for creating further relation." Noctis said.

"I know. Where's the dress?" Lightning walked past Noctis.

"In my room."

"Okay." Lightning quickly walked pass the hall. Lots of pillars, chandeliers, sculptures. Basically it's a beautiful antique building. After passing a few pillars, Lightning turns left, just beside a great sculpture of a Goddess. She entered Noctis' room.

"Do you mind if I use your shower?" Lightning quickly unbuckling her belt, dismissing her saber and started to undress herself.

"Umm, of course no. Could you just go inside the bathroom please?" Noctis tried not to look at Lightning.

"Thanks." Lightning quickly grabs her dress and go inside the bathroom. "Lend me your towel okay Noct?" Lightning said from the bathroom.

"Yeah, yeah, do as you pleased, Light. Hhhh, haven't change a bit, have you Light." Noctis smiled softly, taking a necklace that Lightning put off and put it on his desk, right in front of a photograph. It was a photo 12 years ago, about a month after Lightning and Serah arrived at Lucis. Noctis, Serah and Lightning were sitting under a maple tree, it was autumn, the scenery was beautiful, but all of them have an awkward smile on their faces. Looking at the photograph always brings back memories to Noctis.

_Lucis, 4 years ago_

"_She's even more deadly than ever, right?" some soldiers whispered._

"_Yeah, Lady Claire, I mean Lady Lightning sure is dangerous. But since she's in our side, that would be a huge advantage." the other soldier said._

"_Well, sure she's amazing. That nickname really well suited her anyway. If it's not because she's a princess, she might have been the head of military." the first soldier added._

"_Yeah, she should have if she wasn't a princess. That hurt my pride." A huge man said behind the soldiers._

"_Lord, Lord Gladiolus, we're, we're very sorry. That's not what we meant." The soldiers seemed extremely terrified._

"_Ahahaha, I'm just joking. No need to be so tense. It's true anyway. I respected her so much, she's very potential. Looking her make me so fired up to work my ass off anyway." Gladiolus said._

"_Well you should have done that earlier though." Ignis stated._

"_Noctis is doing well too." Prompto added._

"_Yeah, it kind of surprised me seeing the prince join the military training routinely. I mean, yeah he's good at it but he's not a great fan of fighting." Gladiolus chuckled, looking at Lightning and Noctis' battle._

"_Maybe Lightning made him changed his mind." Ignis said._

"_Yeah, but that sounds like a lovey dovey couple you know." Prompto snickered._

"_Rather than a lovey dovey couple, Noctis seemed to suit the protective alpha male type you know. Making sure that he always there around Lightning." Gladiolus laughed._

"_You've got a point." Ignis said. "By the way she's getting her position right?" Ignis asked._

"_What? Lightning? Yeah, of course. Today she'll be a lieutenant." Gladiolus answered. "Such a unique princess, isn't she?"_

"Noctis, have you seen Claire?" a sweet voice called him. He smelled a peach eau de toilette, typical Serah.

"Right in the shower." Noctis smiled.

"Good grief." Serah sighed. "Oh and you should have prepare yourself too Noct! I'll give you some touch of makeup and you're good to go." Serah said excitedly.

"Wait, what? Make up? Sorry, I'll pass." Noctis said trying to turn away her offering.

"Oh, there you are my Claire. You should have prepared sooner. Come, I'll do something for your hair and makeup. No is not an option." Serah said, taking Lightning's arm and dragged her. Lightning could only groan. She knew there's nothing that could stop Serah right now. Noctis mentally said his praises to God for saving his life from Serah.

Once Serah slammed the door, Noctis prepared himself. But then, he looked again at the photograph. _Will her eyes be as bright as Serah's someday? Will I ever make her feel happy? _Suddenly, he recalled the memory when he first met Claire, when the first time he saw those beautiful eyes cry. And how now it changes into cold eyes, even if sometimes it softened a bit when she's around Serah or her friends.

_Leviathan Grand Ballroom, Accordo_

The room was decorated with lily flowers and carnation, with such a beautiful lighting came from the chandeliers. The great Leviathan sculpture adorns the whole hall. It was perfect. Many aristocrats came by, trying to get a good relationship with King Regis. It was his birthday anyway, he must be in a perfect mood. The word "Cheers for the King" echoed in the whole room before the party goes on.

The King and his family were in front of the Leviathan sculpture, conversed with Fang and Vanille, the princesses of Eden, as well as Lightning's best friends.

"By the way Noctis, where's Cloud? I haven't seen him. Is he coming? It's not his habit to came late." Fang asked.

"Cloud? Yes he's coming. He said his trip was kind of delayed." Noctis sipped his glass.

"Well, so sorry for the inconvenience. But Cloud's having trouble with directions. Miss me already, Lady Fang?" a feminine voice called from Fang's back.

"Tifa!" Fang said and hugged her.

"My apologize, Your Majesty for coming late. Without any means to dishonoring you, please accept my apology from the deepest of my heart. Happy birthday, King Regis, may good odds always on your favor. I hope this won't ruin the good relationship between Midgar and Lucis. " Cloud and Tifa bowed.

"Oh dear, no need to be so formal, it makes the air so stuffy." The Queen waved her hands.

"There's nothing to be apologize for, Lord Cloud. Please, enjoy the party." King Regis smiled.

"Excuse me girls, what about a little scroll around the party?" Tifa said cheerfully.

"Oh, of course." All girls are agreed except Lightning, but she was dragged by Serah anyway.

"Dad, please excuse us." Noctis said, referring to him and Cloud.

"Oh, sure, sure. Go on mingle to the party. I'd like to greet other guests too." King Regis said.

"Thank you, Dad." Noctis and Cloud bowed before heading to the second floor, they greeted some people on the way before they came to a spot where it's quiet enough without any people nearby.

"What is it Cloud?" Noctis asked seriously. Cloud sighed. "There's no way to hide things from you, eh?" Cloud said.

"We're being followed by." Cloud gives a serious look. "They're up to something and whoever they are, they don't mind to involved common people. They followed me in a main road, Noct. I must go quickly and trick them, taking hidden route, which takes more time." Cloud inhaled. "I've sent Vincent back right away to Midgar and warned everyone there."

"Any information from Vincent?" Noctis asked.

"He has reached Midgar in a perfect condition fortunately. Nothing else he said though." Cloud sighed.

"You can't come back there for now right? You're unarmed. What if they're waiting for you?" Noctis asked.

"The exact question is what they are up to." Cloud said. "I bring all of my swords here. But I don't have my Fenrir with me."

"Do you have someone in mind who might be the one behind this?" Noctis asked. Cloud stayed quiet for a moment.

"I don't know. Midgar was in a perfect condition. No riot, no suffrage. They're only motive would likely to be expansion, taking Midgar." Cloud said. "But there's something that make me unease. I feel like there's something else, something much more crucial than this." Cloud put his fingers on his chin.

"I'll come with you to Midgar." Noctis said.

"No, you can't leave Lucis. If anything did happen, Lucis will be their target Noct, you know this. Midgar and Lucis share the same characteristic, no matter what attract them to Midgar, it will attract them to Lucis as well." Cloud said.

"It's okay, Lucis is fine without me. Gladiolus still here, Ignis and Prompto also still here." Noctis negated.

"Putting my cousin in trouble is not my line of duty Noct." Cloud grinned a bit.

"Damn you, Cloud." Noctis chuckled.

"Let's head back to the party, Noct. They must be looking for you." Cloud said.

Just when they're headed to the stair, a loud crash was heard followed by a violent shake, making both Cloud and Noctis must hold on to the nearest pillar. The whole crowd screamed. Some chandelier even blown off. People were running here and there, trying to go out from the hall, but then a strange noise heard. Making the whole room fell to silence. The atmosphere was so intense, Noctis felt numb, he can't even move a single muscle. Then, under the moonlight, a huge grey scales were seen, going up from the water, before roaring. It was a Leviathan.

"Noctis! Noctis!" Lightning ran to him, both Noctis and Cloud stood.

"Yo, Noct! What the hell is this? This is bad!" Gladiolus followed from behind, as well as Prompto and Ignis.

"Glad, how many guards we have here?" Noctis asked.

"About 100, Noct. Fully armed. I've asked Cor and and 50 of our troops to escort the guests as well as the King and Queen. The other 50 goes out to handle the Leviathan." Gladiolus said. Then, a huge crash came. The Leviathan broke the window and roared. Lots of guests screamed and ran, while some troops fired their weapon to the Leviathan, caused it to rage even more.

"Don't let the guests harmed, Glad, Prompto, came with we face that Leviathan. Ignis, find out what's wrong with the system, the Leviathan should have been locked away from this building. Lightning, tell Serah to cure everyone that's injured, and please deploy our navy, then come with Ignis, no matter what's wrong with the system, please fix it. Go!" Noctis ordered. Then everybody run to do their job.

"Cloud, I don't ask you to come! You're a guest!" Noctis said when Cloud followed him.

"Well, a guest or not my conscience says I should help people." Cloud answered calmly.

"I thought putting my cousin into a trouble is not my line of duty." Noctis smirked. Cloud laughs at that statement.

"Guys, split up. Once you reach that hole on the window, Glad come with me. Promp, go with Cloud. Clear?" Noctis said.

"As clear as crystal." Prompto said. Right when they're almost at the hole, the Leviathan turned to face them and roar.

"Now!" Noctis shout.

BANG! BANG!

Prompto shot the Leviathan, made it drew his neck back a bit. By this, Noctis and Gladiolus jumped to the right side. Noctis summoned one of his spears and aimed for the Leviathan's neck.

"Prince Noctis! Stop!" Just when he was about to release the spear, Cor shout from behind.

"You can't kill that Leviathan! We really need it for our military defense!" Cor shout.

"What? And you want to kill the entire guest here as well as the King to protect a monster in its rampage?" Noctis snapped back.

"Noct, look out!" Gladiolus quickly jumped before him and warded the Leviathan's attack with his huge sword, however the hit from the beast sent them crashing to the water. Noctis felt numb, his whole body ached from the high force of the angry Leviathan.

"Noct! Glad!" Prompto shout, he quickly jumped to the spot where Noctis and Gladiolus fell. But before he reached the spot, Gladiolus splashed out from the water, holding coughing Noctis.

"Prompto, watch out!" Gladiolus shout. Prompto turned his head and saw the biggest terror in his entire life. The angry monster swung its neck, ready to hit the blonde. Prompto screams, the monster came closer and closer, but just when Cloud's about to throw his blade to stop the Leviathan, the direction of the monster's hit shift, barely grazed Prompto. But what came to their realization is even more horrifying. The Leviathan moved towards the main bridge, where the guests were being evacuated.

"Oh, no no no no!" Gladiolus shout. Noctis quickly teleported to the bridge, summoning his blades, he jumped to the Leviathan, while creating his crystal shields.

"Noctis, don't!" Suddenly, something hit Noctis forcefully, slammed him back to the bridge, pinned him on the ground.

"What the heck!" Noctis growled, but then he realized the 'thing' that hit him was Lightning.

"Lightning what are you doing? Watch out the Leviathan!" Noctis quickly shift their position, placed him in front of Lightning, protecting her. The monster's was only a few meters left before a knife pierced to the Leviathan's flesh. The Leviathan roared and turned his head, facing Ignis, the one who threw the knife.

"Shit!" Noctis quickly reacted and about to jump again to protect Ignis, before Lightning held him back.

"Wait!" She said. The Leviathan was ready to charge Ignis, but suddenly it let out a howl before it felt to the water, sending huge waves and splashed to the surroundings. Noctis gaped, he was speechless.

"We smeared the knife with anesthetic Noct. No time to explain, we have to clean up the mess." Lightning said, before quickly jumped from the bridge, leaving Noctis puzzled.

It was a disaster, half of the hall broke down into pieces. Even though there was no fatalities, but lots of the guests were injured badly. The paramedic sent them to the nearest hospital in Accordo. The King and The Queen came personally to every single guest, apologizing and taking a lot of harsh criticism from the angry guests. The soldiers were working hard to transfer the unconscious Leviathan to the quarantine zone. Lucis was devastated.

"How were the others?" Noctis asked solemnly while Serah cured him on the bridge.

"Prompto is fine, he got some scratches and bruised all over his body but no fatal injuries, so does Cloud. Gladiolus got some fracture on his arms, Ignis is fine-"

"Where's Lightning?" Noctis cut.

Serah sighed. "She's fine Noct, she's handling the Leviathan relocation right now. There were no fatalities in this incident–fortunately-, but I'm sure they're all pissed up. The guests I mean. This issue will spread widely and," Serah sighed again. "Anything could be happened after that. It will be hard for Lucis." Serah dropped her head. Noctis remained silent for a moment. Then he stood up. "Thanks Serah, I'll look for the others and give some help. Thank you." His face was expressionless, but Serah knows, he's stressed out.

Noctis walked slowly past the bridge. He visited his friends for a while, asking their condition, before came in to the destroyed hall, looking at the Leviathan sculpture mournfully. How could this happen?

After having a long night, cleaning up some mess, put the Leviathan at quarantine zone, and lots of other works, finally they had the time to rest. The Lucis' nobles were back to Insomnia, as well as some close acquaintance from Midgar and Eden.

"Thanks Cloud for your help. I'm really sorry for troubling you." Noctis said in front of the room for Cloud. "See you tomorrow." Noctis turned his back.

"Noct." Cloud called. Noctis turned back. "Never let your guard down." Cloud said. Noctis nodded then Cloud closed the door.

Noctis walked slowly through the stairs, there are a lot of things in his mind. He felt there was something fishy with the accident. The only explanation came from Ignis was the Leviathan went into rampage, and broke off from its cage. Noctis took a deep breath and sigh. To say it was a coincidence was more than bizarre.

Noctis was so deep in thought until the moment a sword was pointed right to his neck when he walked past a dark alley. _'Oh and I was just being warned not to let my guard down.' _Noctis thought sarcastically.

"It's me." A familiar feminine voice was heard. Loud enough to be heard by Noctis, but soft enough to be drawn by the night wind. Noctis barely saw the slender figure under a black cloak beside him.

"Light?" Noctis whispered.

"I need you to be fully armed, change your suit to your combat attire, and meet me in the backyard in 5 minutes. Make sure nobody see you." Lightning said. "And wear this. I'll explain everything later." Lightning handed him another black cloak. Noctis nodded and quickly walked past the alley to his room and quickly changed his clothes to his usual combat attire, and wore the cloak. He checked his surrounding to make sure there was no one else, before silently jogged through the dark alley and headed to the back yard.

"This way!" Lightning whispered, right beside the back door that headed to the backyard. Noctis followed her, both of them made no noise. They headed to the back gate, it was slightly open. They silently went out through the gate. There, under the shade of a tree, a black car was waiting with Ignis on the driver seat. After they got in, the car started the engine and went out from the residence, then going to full speed after it.

"So what's this about?" Noctis asked, unleashing his cloak.

"It's about the accident." Lightning said.

"So finally you're going to tell me a logical explanation?" Noctis arched his eyebrow.

"It's a bit complicated Noct, and we can't reveal it in front of other people." Ignis said.

"Even Glad, Promp, or Serah?" Noctis asked.

"We're heading to the Leviathan stall in Accordo, we'll explain everything there." Lightning said. Noctis scoffed, feeling dissatisfied with the answer. After a few moments, they arrived at the stall. There were some Lucis' army on the qui vive. They walked to the quarantine zone and came in to the observing room.

"I'm hoping for a satisfying answer." Noctis said once they were left alone in the observing room. He saw the great Leviathan was still under anesthetic effect. "And I'm expecting a logical explanation on why our guards here can't tackle down the Leviathan." Noctis said, facing both Lightning and Ignis.

"The first time we arrived here, right after the accident. Everyone here was dead." Ignis said, looking at other direction. Noctis shocked, his eyes widened because of the news. No way, they said there were no fatalities. Noctis also saw others Leviathan there, and they are alive. There's no way an angry Leviathan didn't attack the other Leviathan. Noctis clenched his fist upon the realization. Someone had arranged this.

**So far for this chapter, long enough huh?**

**I hope you enjoy it and please read along for the other chapters!**


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